Aliyah is an Arabic name, the feminine form of Ali, and means "exalted" or "sublime"; in Hebrew the same word means ascent and is the term for immigrating to Israel. Its American popularity owes much to the singer Aaliyah, who died in 2001, and whose spelling with double a is also widely used. Aliyah rose from number 287 in 2000 to a peak of number 133 in 2011 and ranks number 263 among girls' names in the United States in 2025.